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Forward · 1976–79

Paul Griffin

Small-town Michigan shaped him. At Shelby High School he anchored back-to-back Class C state championships in 1971 and 1972, then left Western Michigan as the Broncos' all-time leading rebounder after carrying them to their first NCAA tournament and a Sweet Sixteen run in 1976. The New Orleans Jazz grabbed him in the fifth round of that year's draft, and he gave the young franchise three seasons.

San Antonio acquired him in 1979, and there the forward found his identity — one of the 'Bruise Brothers,' the Spurs' famously physical front line alongside Dave Corzine and Mark Olberding. He stayed with the Spurs until his NBA career wound down in 1983.

HOW HE CAME & WENTNew Orleans drafted him 74th overall in 1976 and extended him in 1978. He went to San Antonio in July 1979 as compensation for the Jazz signing Allan Bristow.

Full name
Paul Arthur Griffin
New Orleans Jazz tenure
1976–79
Position
Forward
Born
1953, Shelby, Michigan
Height
6′9″ (206 cm)
Weight
205 lb (93 kg)
College
Western Michigan
Drafted
1976, 2nd round, Phoenix
Signature in the archive 1977 Custom Card Utah Jazz A-328

No photograph of this signature is online yet.

With the Jazz

PAUL GRIFFIN · 1976–79 · PER GAME
SEASONTEAMGMPGPPGRPGAPGSPGBPGFG%3P%FT%
1976–77NOJ8120.35.26.12.10.60.5.547.721
1977–78NOJ8222.65.36.22.11.10.5.447.713
1978–79NOJ7718.23.95.11.80.70.5.475.619
JAZZ TOTAL3 SEASONS24020.44.85.82.00.80.5.485.689

Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗  ·  Wikipedia ↗

Did you know

PAUL GRIFFIN · 5 NOTES
  • Played for the franchise in both New Orleans and Utah, spanning the 1979 relocation.
  • A fifth-round pick, 74th overall in 1976, he nonetheless stuck around for seven NBA seasons and 480 games.
  • He shot better than 50 percent from the floor while averaging more rebounds and assists than points, value no box score ever flattered.
  • The Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame sums up his Jazz years in one phrase — he was 'the feed-man to sharp shooting Pete Maravich'.
  • A knee injury in February 1983 brought his playing career to an end.